I think the writing has been on the wall since mid season last season. It was obvious at that point we had no plan B and no idea of retaining posession etc - it's all been mentioned here ad nauseum.

A coach who, and it hurts to use this word, CARES, will go away close season and devise strategies to solve problems. Maybe matt is such a poor coach he can't see where problems lie, or worse, he is too arrogant to admit one. The way fax play this season i suspect it is the latter.

We can rant about the players as much as we want but, speaking as a very well qualified coach, admittedly not rugby league though, it is the coach who formulates game plans, attitudes and team spirit on the training ground. The coach who plays the right players in the right positions, the coach who plans tactics to negate the opposition, the coach who deals with players who cross the line and the coach who protects players who are injured and playing below par. Most importantly, it is the coach that sets the right example at all times.

Ask yourself this - has all the above been on display since mid season last year? If the answer is no there can only be one solution.

I have been a fax fan for many a year and have never called for a coach's head but i think it's time matt packed his bags. He has been given the best squad possible by the board and martin hall and blown it. Even worse, he has made good players worse and clueless - there may be more to this.

Time to change before we self distruct - fax are there for the taking now

Is it true when MC took over MH, he was player coach for Rochdale Mayfield in one of the conference leagues and they came bottom?

Sorry but if we're wanting to win a grand final, we're gonna have to aim a bit higher than the Blackpool coach, no offence.

Lets be honest the BOD aren't going to have the balls to get rid so think we'll be stuck with Calland until its too late. Sad but probably true.

Ian Millward was sat towards the back of the East Stand today and it certainly did not affect his impact on what his team was doing. I was sat just in front of him for much of the second half and what I heard was most instructive. He was constantly talking to his touch-line staff and issuing orders/requests. He was picking up instantly on what Fax were doing by way of tactics or substitutions and directing reactions to them. He was even suggesting at one point that Robbie Paul should try 'going long' on the next set of six, clearly not just leaving his players to have to work out things for themselves. In other words, Millward was directing his forces in a Napoleonic way, trying to leave nothing to chance and seeking ways to gain his men an advantage. If something was slightly amiss or not working as he wanted, he took steps to change things around. When Leigh scored he showed delight and pleasure, no doubt in the fact that his side were doing exactly what he wanted and how he wanted. His involvement in the match both professionally and emotionally was abundantly clear to see.

My conclusion from what I heard and saw is that it is not where the coach might place himself in the ground during the match that matters most but how much he makes himself involved. I don't know what communications Calland has with his touch-line staff, if any, during play so cannot comment on him in that context, but I do consider that Millward, by sitting high up, had a good overview of the field of play and used that constantly to his side's benefit.

To me, after today's experience, Millward is an excellent coach. Calland I'm not sure, but am now less sure than ever before.

PS - why do you think the courier website has gone very quiet?

Ok yes I agree, maybe give him a look at. But in my opinion there many better coaches suited to the Fax position than he would be.

Trust me if there was any "breaking" news James would have uploaded it. Which tells me nothing has happened. Should have been an emergency board meeting straight after the match in my opinion. If he was going to go it would have happened I reckon.

here's a couple of reasons why he will end up staying.

2 year contract, the club might not be able to buy out the rest of his contract.

another reason is all the best coaches have already been snapped up, so who would we get in.

tactically he needs to improve,
he never really learns from his mistakes he makes as a coach.

got to the grand final last year though, although many will say that was down to the players on the pitch than his coaching ability.

i don't know today was bad and we all know that. i just can't see who we could get that would be better at this stage

Speaking of Blackpool, erm, no NRC income, no money for new coach, damn, wheres Tony Gartland when you need him?

Copied from other thread as thought it was better in this one!!

Read both threads concerning Calland and the performance today and the silence from the "Calland In" crowd is deafening. Todays performance is a culmination of poor coaching, discipline and organisation that in my opinion has been on-going for some time. Personally for me Calland should have gone before last season got underway after his "incident" in Halifax. The Grand Final merely served as a superb smoke screen and papered over a number of cracks that were starting to appear in Callands coaching ability. When it truly mattered last season in the "major" games we blew it and I have always bemoaned Callands ability to really get any of his teams highly charged and passionate. Today was a prime example. Champagne corks freshly popped on a new era for the Town, club and stadium and what happens? - The worst performance in many years.

Millward played superb mind games during the week complimenting our speed out wide, whilst plotting to batter us up the middle, in fact they battered us in every department and as many previous posters have mentioned a large majority of their team were well beaten by us less than 12 months ago. What a difference a coach makes!! - I thought Leigh were SUPERB today and played how I want every Fax side to play . . . . . . For each other. They were led well by Paul around the park and played good, hard, basic rugby and looked to offload at the right time but were patient and built momentum.

Calland must (hell as got to) go but I am not sure the BOD are strong enough to make such a decision. As much as I was berated for mentioning on here a players comments made to our group last week (just how true were those supposed flippant comments?)........As I have always said where HRLFC and rumours are concerned there is normally some truth, no smoke without fire and all that. Halifax actually look like a side who don't train or know each other saying that and players sound like rats wanting to desert a sinking ship if the other rumours have any element of truth to them.

I take no pleasure in seeing my team play like that but sacking Calland is no "knee-jerk" reaction it is a decision that needs making for the good of the club moving forward and damn quick before the season is over before it has got going. We need fresh impetus with a whole new back room setup and I personally would bring in someone with no links to the club. We've appointed on sentiment before with TA and I'm not sure Rhino is the answer right now.

I would have thought that, if the board has met and taken any decision on the coach's future (whether to stick with him or to replace him) or intend to meet in the next day or so to discuss the matter, they would prefer not to have news just leak out but would want to be able to formulate and issue a proper press statement at the appropriate time explaining what their decision is and their reasoning for it.

I'm sure there will shortly be some official reaction from the club to current events, whatever those reactions might be, and that the Courier will then report and comment on these. I do hope so because the worrying issues about the coaching and team morale need addressing at the highest level...and quickly.

mayfield were a poor side when he took over when he left we had won the first division and the next season we were one game off the play of final in the premership
also ran hunslet and barrow close in the challenge cup
matts one of the best if not the best young coach out there

Did you miss the dedicated Matt Calland thread just below or are you that important?

Not that I can take any of your posts seriously anyway becaue all you post is negative bile - even in the best of times.